Demo held in Berlin against NATO war in Afghanistan

Around 1,500 people have held a demonstration in Berlin to protest against NATO’s military presence in Afghanistan.

On Saturday, the protesters, summoned by the Left Party and various peace groups, met to march on the Reichstag — the seat of parliament — and the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin.

Peace activists on the march held up banners and placards with the slogan “No more soldiers. Give peace a chance — troops must leave Afghanistan.”

On Friday, the German parliament is to vote on government plans to increase the country’s troop contingent in Afghanistan by up to 850 soldiers, to a total of 5,350.

Most Green Party members intend to abstain from the vote, the party’s deputy parliamentary leader Frithjof Schmidt told DPA.

The Greens are still in favor of a “stabilization mission,” Schmidt said, but added that there were a “series of unclear issues and inconsistencies,” contained within the new mandate.

The parliamentary majority of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right government is expected to be sufficient for the bill to pass into law.